(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hanger bracket apparatus and a method for erecting and securing a framework of joist members to an elevated vertical support surface.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Various devices and methods have been employed in the prior art to erect wooden decks to the exterior walls of buildings. These decks are often constructed on site directly to the exterior building wall. The methods employed in constructing prior art decks often include constructing a framework of joists members directly to an external support surface of the building. This piecemeal construction of decks requires a substantial amount of time. If the workmen constructing the deck could first assemble the deck itself as a pre-assembled unit and then transport the pre-assembled deck to the job site for its assembly to the external support surface of the building, a considerable amount of time and effort could be saved. Such a method of construction could be easily employed with a deck that is assembled to a building at or near ground level. However, it would be much more difficult to employ this method of construction in assembling an elevated deck to an external support surface of a building.
Securing a pre-assembled elevated deck to a building would require several workmen or lifting machines to hold the pre-assembled deck in its desired elevated position relative to the external support surface of the building while the deck is secured to the building. Such a method of construction could only be employed by contractors having a substantial labor force or heavy lifting equipment with which to hold the pre-assembled deck in an elevated position while it is secured to the building. This method of construction could not be employed by small contracting companies with limited work forces, or by homeowners constructing their own decks to the sides of their homes. Moreover, even if the large work force or heavy lifting equipment were available to the contractor constructing the elevated deck, the contractor may find it easier to construct the deck in piecemeal fashion from the elevated support surface of the building rather than pre-assembling the deck and utilizing the large work force or heavy lifting equipment to hold the deck in an elevated position as it is attached to the building.
What is needed is a method of attaching a pre-assembled deck to an elevated external support surface of a building that does not require a large work force of laborers or heavy lifting equipment for its practice. What is also needed is an apparatus that would enable the attachment of a pre-assembled deck in a horizontal orientation to an elevated external support surface of a building employing the latter method.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of assembling a pre-assembled deck in an elevated horizontal position to an elevated vertical support surface on a building exterior.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hanger bracket apparatus that is secured to an elevated vertical support surface of a building exterior and facilitates the assembly of a pre-assembled deck in an elevated horizontal position to the elevated vertical support surface of the building exterior.